By Elizabeth Cromwell via Wikimedia CommonsBut his star turn in a Cook County courtroom was not to be. The former president was’t picked for a jury.

“The public allowed him to come in and to do his duty,” said presiding Chief Judge Tim Evans. “I thought, for example, he would be reticent about greeting them. He came in and greeted the prospective jurors on both side of the panels. We had about 220 people here.”

The Chicago Tribune saida media scrum followed Obama’s every move — from departing his South Side home to his 10 a.m. arrival at the downtown Chicago court complex.

“His motorcade parked in a secure garage underneath the Daley Center, a source said. Obama then took a private elevator used by judges to the 17th-floor jury assembly room, where a small crowd of news photographers, reporters, court staff and attorneys pressed up against the doors hoping to catch a glimpse of the former president.”

Social media were flooded with pictures and videos of Obama, and the paper said: “Indeed, Obama was a hit in the jury assembly room, shaking hands with would-be jurors and signing copies of his books that some brought.”

But Obama drew one red line.

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“He said, ‘Well you can take a shot, but no selfies.’ He thought that would delay him,” the judge said.

What happens when you have jury duty w/ former President Obama! He shook every hand in that jury pool room. This video was captured by Thomas Pearson who said he was going to ditch jury duty today. pic.twitter.com/5AL6baUl6e